Fullmetal meets Fox
by ekaki-uta
Summary: AU. After a myterious incident involving Uchiha Itachi, Naruto and the gang find themselves in the world of the Elrics. On hiatus.
1. The Fox

"Fullmetal meets Fox" Note: Due to some feedback from my friends to whom I have shown this FanFic in printed form, I have felt it my obligation to tell you that most of my FanFics branch out as alternate stories. In this case, my alternate story is that Al never became a ten year-old boy when he crossed over from the gate. He simply crossed over with no memories of what had happened. Also, Edward (In his shortness) did not get sent to the other side. He maintained his limbs and lived a happy life with Al and the others in Winry's house in RizemBull, Amestris. So, it's a happy ending. No Conqueror of Shamballa (yet). Wrath missing. Izumi dying only. Stuff like that. Oh, and Itachi is evil, not his good, Sasuke-protecting self.

Onward with the Fic!

* * *

"Fullmetal meets Fox"Chapter 1-The Fox

Konoha Village…

**I**t was dawn, just after the sun rose. The foggy streets of the village were littered with trash. Pieces of confetti, paper, wood, and other items were scattered all over.

Sasuke looked around the town square. On the far left, he could see some of the village men disassembling the stage that stood at the center the other night. He looked at the ground. Heaps and piles of garbage were scattered almost everywhere, waiting to be picked up. He sighed.

Why is it that I have to be so eager for a mission? he asked himself. As he held his head up, looking at the sky, he felt a flashback coming on.

* * *

"Are you sure you want this new mission?", his sensei asked.

"Of course!", said Sasuke proudly.

"Alright…"

Little did he know that his mission was NOT one that involved stealthing into enemy territory, retrieving any Secret Scroll of some kind, not even delivering an important message.

In fact, the mission was a pure disgrace to a ninja.

"You'll have to clean up all the trash littered around town after last night's Moon Festival.", his teacher instructed him. Sasuke had no other choice but to follow. What could he do?

* * *

Back to the present.

Sasuke shrugged. "Guess I'd better start doing my "mission"…", he said sarcastically.

He slung his sack above his shoulders and started to pick up all the trash he could get his hands on, muttering indistinctly.

In a few minutes, he had picked up all but a third of the trash in the square.

"Great…", he muttered. "Only 15 streets and 45 alleys left to go… Hooray…"

* * *

Later that day, Sasuke and his friends Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, TenTen, Sakura, as well as their sensei, Kakashi and Kurenai, were all at the Hyuuga Estate, drinking and gossiping.

"Too bad you had to do all the work, Sa'ke!" Naruto said, teasing him.

"Yeah," said Neji, "You could have at least asked for our help."

"Stop it. Its not funny.", said Sasuke, obviously frustrated. "Do you know how hard it was to do that?!"

"No," said Shikamaru, "But if you hum a few bars I could sing with you…"

Everyone laughed.

"Shut Up!", said Sasuke. "Besides, I didn't need your help. If I did, I still wouldn't have asked you, anyway."

"Ooh, stingy…"

All of them laughed once more, amused at their own bickering. Unaware that they were being watched.

* * *

Outside…

A young man with black hair looked inside through one of the windows of the estate. He was eyeing the black-haired ninja closely. His pitch-black cloak contrasted with the bright sunny atmosphere around him.

His name was Uchiha Itachi, and he was Sasuke's brother.

"It is time…", he muttered, his voice penetrating the stillness around him. "Today, my brother, is the day I will finally get the respect I truly deserve.

He got out a small, thick book. He flipped to the pages until he got to the middle.

"Let's see how you handle this, little brother…", he said, laughing sinisterly.

He chanted a few words from the book.

All of a sudden, Itachi started emitting a violet aura. The air around him started condensing making it as cold as winter. Itachi directed the vortex at the room that Sasuke and the others were in.

* * *

Inside…

Ino suddenly started feeling a lot colder. It felt like she was in icy water.

"Hey, guys… Do you feel that…?"

They looked at her.

Kakashi felt it, too. Naruto, Kurenai, and TenTen looked like they had been hit by shards of ice.

Sakura huddled close to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun… What is it??"

Sasuke looked out the window. Then, he saw him.

For a few seconds their eyes met. Sasuke stared into Itachi's deep, purple, orbs. He could feel his cold, heartless, gaze. Itachi sneered.

"Farewell for now, otouto.." he teased.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt sick. He could feel his insides being ripped apart. He looked to his left, but Sakura was gone. He felt that his body was slipping down into something. He looked at his feet, but all he could see was a puddle of purplish goo. It was like he was in quicksand, sinking; helplessly sinking.

Sinking. And sinking.

He closed his eyes, and hoped for the best.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another dimension, in the town of Rizembull…

Alphonse Elric awoke to the sounds of chirping birds. He could smell the aroma of coffee and waffles coming from downstairs. He looked to his right. His brother, Edward, was still asleep. Al could see a bit of drool sliding down Ed's cheek. He laughed. He got out of the bed and dressed into his trademark green sleeveless, and left the room.

When he got down, he saw that their friend Winry was already downstairs, baking some cupcakes.

"So that's where that yummy smell was coming from! I should have known you had got up early and prepared breakfast—again!", Al said, smiling.

"It's Sunday!", said Winry, smiling back. "Don't you remember?"

"Well, isn't it a bit TOO early?", said Al sarcastically.

"Its never too late OR too early for a good breakfast! Now, c'mon! The waffles are getting cold!"

After breakfast, Al helped Winry wash the dishes. Then he took a bath, dressed up in formalwear, and left the house.

"Tell Ed I left earlier!", he called to Winry.

"Will do, Al!"

Alphonse was already very near to the station. He could already see it in view. He felt a little nervous as he was walking to the station. Today's the day Roze comes back from Liore, Al thought to himself. He remembered the last time he and the others fetched Rose. He was blushing deep red, and it was really embarrassing.

"Today will be different, though…" Al muttered. "I'll finally muster the courage to ask Roze out, and—"

Suddenly, Alphonse felt a strong wind coming from above. He looked up, and in an instant, felt his body being crushed by several other people; ten to be exact.

"OW!!"

The ten strange-looking people got off Alphonse and apologized.

"We're really sorry.", the oldest-looking one said. "Oh, and, uh… Would you be so kind as to tell us where we are…?", he added.

"Oh, you're in RizemBull…" Al said, eyeing them suspiciously. Their clothes looked very funny. In fact, they themselves looked funny. It was like they were from another world.

"Now, would you mind telling me how you were able to come from the sky like that?", Al asked. "Did you use Alchemy?"

The people looked at each other.

"Uh… Alchemy?"

"Yeah, you know…"

Just then, the train sped through the station, its thunderous roar echoing everywhere.

"**AHH!! GIANT EVIL SNAKE!!"**

Al looked at the strange people. They were freaking out like a group of puppies cowering at the sight of an armed bandit.

Al looked at all of them with a puzzled look.

"What's the matter? Haven't any of you seen a train before?"

* * *

A few minutes later, they were all by Ed, Al, and Winry's house, outside on the porch.

Sasuke looked at the strangers. There were two boys and two girls. One of the boys had light-brown hair and looked really cute. The other boy was blonde. He was kinda short. One girl was blonde, too; and the other had dark brown hair with pink highlights. They were all wearing funny looking clothes that were not familiar to him.

From the other side, Edward, Alphonse, Winry, and Roze all looked at each other.

"Where do you think they came from?" Winry asked.

"Beats me…", Ed replied.

"Guys, I don't think we should be whispering like this, it might make the strange people suspicious!", Al muttered, eyeing Kakashi.

"Hey! What are you looking at, stranger?"

"AAGH! Nothing! Please don't kill me!!"

"What…?"

Kakashi felt it coming. He couldn't control it. He tried to cover his mouth(Even though the mask he wore already covered it), but he found that he couldn't; so he let it go.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

"Huh…? What's so funny…?"

Kakashi stopped laughing immediately, like he could control his emotions in a snap. Al felt a it queasy. This guy is REALLY weird, he thought. If I would rate his weirdness on a scale of one to 10, I'd give him… Erm… A 7.5, he added.

"Relax, kid.", Kakashi said, showing the inside of his evergreen vest. "I'm unarmed."

"Besides," he added, "Even if I were, I don't just attack people like that."

"Well, that's a relief…", Al said.

Over the next few minutes, Sasuke and the others relayed their story to Ed, Al, Roze, and Winry.

"So you really have no idea how you got here?", Rose asked.

"We haven't the foggiest.", Kurenai said.

"How strange…" Roze said. "The possibilities of an alternative dimension inside one Multiverse would mean that it's not just two worlds: yours and ours, but many others! Who knows what kind of mysteries are there to see!"

They all looked at Roze with blank, expressionless faces.

"Anyhow…", Ed interrupted, lifting his head back and breaking the silence, "About this traveling to our world thing, how did it feel like?"

"Well…", said Ino, "Since you asked…"

"It was a bit surreal, you know. It was like our bodies were transferred bit by bit."

"Molecule by molecule…", Ed muttered.

"Piece by piece…", Al added.

They both looked at each other.

"Just like how I felt when I lost my body and when I got it back…"

"And when I lost and got back my limbs…"

"Excuse me…?", TenTen asked. "When you lost and got your what back and when what happened to your limbs?!"

"I—It's a complicated story, let's not get to that!", said Winry nervously.

"Hey!", Al interrupted, "Um… I know someone who could help you!"

"Really… Who?"

"His name is Führer Roy Mustang, of the State Military!"

Edward glared at Alphonse. Al just stared. And stared. And stared some more. And stared for a few more seconds.

"Alright…", said Ed. "I guess we could." He shrugged.

"Yes! Thanks, brother!"

"But…"

"But what?"

"First…", Ed said, "First you have to stay with us, just for the night. We can go tomorrow."

"I guess we could stay…", Kakashi and Kurenai both said.

"Okay, then! C'mon in!"

Later, Al crept up to Ed and asked: "Brother, why are you suddenly so generous?"

Ed sneered at Al.

"I'm **not** being generous. It's a test for Winry. I'll, um, "test" her out and see if she can handle having fifteen guests at one time!"

Al chuckled.

* * *

The next day…

Sasuke looked at his reflection in the mirror. I don't look half bad, considering that I'm wearing these weird clothes that boy gave to me… he thought.

He went downstairs. He saw that Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and TenTen were already in the dining room, accompanied by the four strange people. What were their names again? Ah, yes. Edward and Alphonse were the two brothers. Edward, or Ed, was a bit shorter than "Al" even though he was older. Then there was Winry, the blonde-haired girl, and Roze, girl with the two-tone hair color.

Later that day…

Ed stared at Winry. How could she take so long just locking the door of the house?

"C'MON, WINRY YOU'RE SUCH A SLOWPOKE!!"

"Coming!"

When she finally got there, Ed checked his pockets to see if he had left anything. Then, he got into the small minivan that the ninja people called a "strange steel creature", and called to Winry.

"Alright! Let's go!"

As the van sped off into the distance, four people were watching it move farther away from a rooftop. They were all wearing black and had the seal of Uoroboros imprinted on their skin. Three of them were girls, and the fourth was a boy. The first girl had long, flowing black hair, and wore a pure black dress. She had a seal on her right thigh. The other had straight bittersweet hair, and had a seal on her left shoulder. The third had long hair that was tinged deep purple, and had a seal on her stomach. The boy had short, messy brown hair, and his seal was on his right hand, just below the knuckles. The four of them were Homunculi.

"That's them. We'd better follow, too, or Master Itachi will be sore.", said one.

"Alright. But two of us should stay and examine their house.", said another.

"Okay, why don't you and Egotism stay around while Presumption and I go to Central?" said the first.

"Oh, c'mon, Despair! Why don't we switch it this time? Egotism and I are always the ones missing out on the action!" the boy said.

"I'm fine with it.", Egotism commented.

"Well I'm not!"

"Very well, Rage. You and Presumption go and follow them. Egotism and I will stay."

"Now that's a plan I can work with!", Rage said.

"Fine, then.", Despair said. "Just remember, you shouldn't mess up, or Master Itachi will surely punish you. Remember the last time you disobeyed orders. He's the one who created you and he can very well seal you, too."

"Don't worry, Despair. When I'm serious, I'm serious."

"Okay. Now, stop wasting time. Go catch up with them. Egotism and I will be waiting for you two; that is, if you ever come back."

"Hmph.", said Rage. "Count on it."


	2. Homunculi

"Fullmetal meets Fox" Chapter 2-Homunculi

Central Station…

Roy Mustang. Once Lt. Colonel of the Eastern Station. Promoted to General and moved to the Central Station. Later on became Fuehrer (Fuehrer) after the former Fuehrer King Bradley's (The Homunculus) death.

Roy was sitting on his desk, looking at the fourteen. Of all of them, he knew only four. Edward, the former Fullmetal Alchemist. Alphonse, his brother. Winry, their friend (Or you could say their Girlfriend-to-be. Ed and Al were still fighting over her), and Roze, the Ishbalan. The other ten, though, he didn't know.

He fixed up the paperwork he had scattered on his desk, and looked at them once again.

"So…", he said, "You say you're from another world…"

xxxx

Outside…

Rage peered into the window of the building. Inside, he could see the fourteen, talking with Mustang.

"C'mon, Presumption! Can't we ambush them NOW?"

"NO, Rage.", Presumption said sarcastically. "We waituntil theymake the move."

"Darn… If I had known it would be like this, I would've stayed in RizenBull…"

xxxx

Back Inside the Office…

Mustang put the phone down. He had previously called Gracia Hughes, the wife of the late Brigadier General Maes Hughes.

"Well…" Mustang said, Gracin said she'd inform Cheska about the book you described, Mister… Uh… Susake?"

"Sasuke."

"Right." Mustang said, correcting himself. "Anyway, it could take long; three to four hours' tops. In the meantime, you guys find something to do."

"What?!", Ed intervened. "What could we possibly do in three or four hours?! Sit around and watch the flies fly?!"

"I know!", said Al. "Brother, why don't we show them around Central? You know, just so they can see the sights."

Ed thought awhile.

"Um…"

"…"

"**No.**"

"B—But why…?" Al asked, puzzled.

"Because.", Ed said. "Because it's too hassling. We should just research more in the Library. That way, we can find possible ways on how to bring them back to Konowa, or Konoya, or whatever village they live in."

"Konoha. _KONOHA!_", Naruto commented.

"Whatever…"

Uh-Oh, Al thought. Brother's a tough customer. There's only one thing to do…

Al tried to make his eyes water. He thought unhappy thoughts. He started to frown.

Ed looked at Al.

"Al…? What's wrong…?"

Ed looked at Al again. His eyes were teary and his lower lip was quivering. He looked just like a puppy dog. Those cute little gray eyes were hard to say "No" to.

"Oh… Alright…"

"**YAY!** Thanks, Brother."

xxxx

Just as they were leaving, Mustang popped out of the window of his office on the third floor.

"Hey, Al! Here!" he said, throwing something at Al. It looked like a wristband, only it was black. When Al took a good look, he saw that it was a wristwatch.

"It's the new type of Alchemic Reaction-increasing State Alchemist watch."

"S—State Alchemist…?"

"That's right!" Mustang said happily. "Welcome aboard, Luster Alchemist!"

Alphonse's jaw dropped. Edward's did too.

"I'm…"

"He's…"

"**A STATE ALCHEMIST?!**"

Ed and Al both ran back into the building.

When they had finally reached Mustang's office, Mustang handed Al his State Alchemist certificate.

"I—I'm t—the… The Luster… Alchemist…?", Al gasped.

"Yes, Alphonse."

"B—But how…? I didn't even take the State Alchemist Exams—"

"On the contrary," said Mustang, "Don't you remember five years ago? When you and your brother were supposed to take the exam?"

"You mean… I passed?"

"Well… If you weren't a suit of armor back then, you would've passed with flying colors.", Mustang said.

"And… Your point is…?"

"Well," Mustang said, "Since you didn't pass the first time, I figured that I could make it up to you. With the Fuehrer's permission, of course."

"How the hell did you convince the Fuehrer?!" Ed exclaimed.

"**Ehem**…"

"Oh, yeah… You ARE the Fuehrer."

"Alright…" said Al, "But that STILL doesn't explain why I'm the so called "Luster Alchemist". Uh… Why AM I called the Luster Alchemist?"

"Well," Mustang said, "Do you remember all those weeks of training with Izumi?"

"You mean when I was re-taught by teacher?"

"Yes. She said you had been practicing some kind of Alchemy using two transmutation gloves. Care to show it to us?" Mustang asked.

"O—Okay…"

Al took out two small white gloves. Each had a Transmutation Circle printed on the center and on the palms.

"Here goes…" Al said.

He clasped his hands together, and then immediately laid them onto a nearby statuette.

Suddenly, light engulfed the statuette. Markings similar to those on Scar's arm appeared, only they were a light blue color. Afterwards, Al let go and the statuette sprung to life, moving about Roy's table. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, it sat down, and once more became lifeless.

"I can transfer part of my soul into inanimate objects that are 'kinda human-shaped, like armor, statues, and other stuff. But the drawback is that it only lasts for about three-four minutes. Then it wears off." Al said.

A brief moment of silence.

"So THAT'S what Izumi was telling me about…" Ed said.

xxxx

A little while later…

Rage and Presumption observed the fourteen humans from a rooftop across the street. The Elric brothers were showing the seven boys around while the other nine girls were in the stores, shopping.

"Can we make our move now, Presumption?"

"No. Let's wait until they leave the crowded places."

"Drat." Rage scoffed.

xxxx

Meanwhile, down on the street…

"Hey, Edward, Let's explore the city." Naruto urged.

"No, not yet. Let's wait for the girls."

Ed looked inside the shop. Sakura and Ino were still trying out some sweaters and Winry, Roze, and Kurenai were trying some perfumes.

"Okay, this might take awhile. C'mon. Let's explore."

"Yes!!"

As Edward, Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru left to go around the city (Alphonse and Kakashi were with the girls, Kakashi being a playboy and Al being a favorite of the women), Presumption told Rage:

"Their team has separated. Go inform Vengeance, Anger, and Mischief, and then follow the boys. I'll be staying with the girls."

"Alright," Rage said, "Can you handle it?"

"Of course."

The two Homunculi split up; Presumption made herself invisible (That being her power) and followed the boys, while Rage leapt from rooftop to rooftop, headed in another direction, off to call the three "others".

xxxx

Meanwhile, at RizenBull…

Despair and Egotism peered down from the top window of the small yellow-brick house, observing the rooms that the ninjas slept in. One room, the girls' room, had seven beds, one for each of them. Scattered on the floor were kunais, shurikens, small pieces of paper with scribbles and letters on them, littered scrolls; nothing unusual.

The boys' room also had seven beds, which meant that the four hosts slept somewhere else. Surprisingly, the room was tidier than that of the girls.

"Check out the house." Despair told Egotism.

"Right away. I'll tell you if anything comes up." Egotism replied.

Egotism had the power to shape, bend, and flex her body like rubber. She went through a small crack in the wall of the house. In a few seconds, she had already gotten in.

She slithered through the clutter of the girls' room, staying close to the floor. She checked under the beds, the cabinet, the tables, and the stools.

Up top…

Despair was waiting for Egotism's signal. She looked down and saw that she was waving at her, signaling. So, Despair dove into Egotism's mind (Despair's power was Telepathy and Psycho-kinesis).

_Egotism… What can you see?_

_There's nothing here but a bunch of girly stuff. I'll check the boys' room._

_Alright._

Despair used her ability to peer into Egotism's head. That way, she would be able to see what Egotism saw.

Despair could see the bottom of the beds, full of bottles of lipstick and nail polish.

Then, she saw that Egotism was moving, from one side of the house, she passed through the upper area of the house and went into the boys' room.

Through Despair's eyes, she saw that the under portions of the bed had only dust. No clutter, no miscellaneous items, no nothing.

_Hmm… Seems odd that the boys are behaving so… What's the word? Tidy. They might be hiding something._

_Yes, that's right. Go check in the cabinets. They _must_ be hiding something; specially that Hatake fellow. He seems smart enough to figure out what's been happening._

_Okay. I'm on it._

Despair dove out of Egotism's mind, and waited for her to come back.

xxxx

Meanwhile, somewhere in the outskirts of Central…

Rage went into one of the small shops at a small alley. All the people were looking at him because he was wearing black. He didn't mind. He walked up the creaky stairs that led to a musty old room where three people were sitting on small stools.

"Get up, and let's go." He said.

The three people looked at each other. Then, the third one, a girl with short, blue violet hair in a pigtail; her face covered by a mask, stood up.

"Fine then, Rage. Let's go." She said.

She took off her cloak, leaving a pitch-black tight suit in place. She removed her mask, revealing a blood-red Uoroboros seal on her left cheek. She was Vengeance, the fifth Homunculus.

"C'mon, Anger, Mischief. We'd better get going if we want to keep up with the girls." Vengeance said.

The two boys immediately stood up and also took off their cloaks, showing their black outfits and Uoroboros seals.

They both looked somewhat like Rage, because Rage, Anger (The second eldest, the one with the mark on his right hand), and Mischief (The youngest, his seal on the left side of his neck) were brother Homunculi.

"Pick up the pace, or else Presumption will beat us to them."

They went up another flight of stairs that led to an attic with a trapdoor on the ceiling. Mischief opened it up, and all four of them went up to the roof. Then, they leapt from one roof to the other, in the direction where the girls were.

xxxx

A few minutes earlier, at Konoha…

Uchiha Itachi peered through the glowing purple orb, showing the whereabouts of the _**nine**_ Homunculi.

"Excellent…" He said, sneering an evil, malevolent grin. "All is in order. Once Deception and disgrace are finished with their duties, all will be well."

He laughed, his flowing black cloak hissing as it scraped the rocky floor of his underground hideout.

"All will be well…" He repeated, this time grinning—sneering ear to ear.

He turned round, and stepped away from the orb, laughing maliciously.

xxxx

Central…

The girls (Along with Kakashi and Alphonse) had finally finished shopping, and by the time they got out of the store, it was almost dusk.

"Uh, I think we'd better look for the boys," Tenten urged. "It's getting late."

"Yeah. We should." Roze added.

They were about to leave when suddenly, from out of nowhere, four figures appeared. They were wearing black and had funny-looking seals on their bodies.

Alphonse recognized them immediately.

"Y—You people… You're…"

"That's right, Alphonse." Said one of them. "We're Homunculi."


	3. Brothers in Arms:1

Chapter 3-Brothers in Arms: Part 1 Chapter 3-Brothers in Arms: Part 1

Alphonse and Edward were by a lush green hillside, just the two of them. Edward looked at Al and smiled. Al smiled back.

"Alphonse, I've been meaning to tell you something…" Ed said quietly.

"Yes, what is it, brother?"

"I—I love you… I love you, Alphonse…" Edward said, blushing.

"Really?" Al asked, puzzled. "B—Because I love you, too…"

The two started hugging, cherry blossoms filling the ground.

_EEWWW!! WAKE UP!! THIS IS A DREAM; WAKE UP!!_

* * *

Al awoke with a start, his heart thumping like mad. He tried looking around, but his vision was still fuzzy. He could make out something like a small table beside him, and he was lying down on a bed. It looked as though he was in a hospital.

He blinked thrice.

His vision started to get clearer. He could see that he _was _in a hospital. He looked to his right and saw Edward and Winry, sleeping on a small leather bench by the wall. Al shuddered. Eww, he thought. How could he have dreamt a dream like that? And more importantly, why was he in the hospital? He tried to remember.

* * *

_The four Homunculi were there, right in front of them all. They all had evil sneers on their faces that made Al get Goosebumps all over. The past seven Homunculi were scary enough: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Sloth; the "seven deadly friends"._

_And now, their race had come to terrorize the world once more._

"_Think fast!" Kakashi suddenly said._

_Al snapped back to his senses just in time to dodge a small yet sharp piece of metal headed for him._

_He looked back up to see the girls jump around to dodge more tiny projectiles being flung at them. He looked at the Homunculi and saw one of them throwing them up while another was using some sort of wind force to push them forward. He dodged two more, and then took out his transmutation gloves. He clasped his hands together and was about to utilize a mannequin from one of the stores, but before he could do it, a bolt of lightning struck the figure, sending all the bits and pieces flying about._

_Al called to Winry and Roze and told them to get out of the "battlefield". The two did as they were told. He then transmuted a giant wall from the pavement and let the ninjas do the long range fighting._

_Suddenly, the fourth of the Homunculi jumped behind him and grabbed his shirtsleeve._

"_Don't even think about using alchemy, twit!" she threatened. "Otherwise…"_

_She ripped apart Al's sleeve._

"_It'll be your torso I'm gonna shred!"_

_Al wanted to fight back, but he couldn't. He was amazed at the strength of the Homunculus, considering how young she looked compared to Al. She looked like she was about thirteen, two years younger than him and Ed._

_Just then, a lone kunai zipped through the air, landing on the wall just centimeters from the Homunculus' arm._

"_What the…?"_

_Al looked to his left and saw Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto. Behind them (Though barely visible due to his lack of proper height/stunted lengthwise growth/physical height handicap) was Edward._

"_Al!" he called. "Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine, brother!" he replied._

"_Alright." said Neji. Let us handle her. You two brothers better get going and fight the other two!!_

"'_Kay!" Al replied._

_Soon, Naruto and the others were left to fight the fourth Homunculus and Ed and Al started fighting the two more. Al couldn't help but feel strange all of a sudden, considering that he 'kinda remembered that there were four of them that appeared. He and Ed helped the girls fight the twin Homunculi, and they finally had them all cornered, when suddenly…_

"_Hey! Stupid Humans!!" someone called from behind._

_Edward turned around to see another one of the Homunculi; similar to the twin boys they were fighting._

"_My name is Rage." The lone one said. "And we're going to have a little fun with you."_

_We? Ed thought. He turned round once again to resume his fight with the three other—_

_The three others. They were gone._


	4. Brothers in Arms: 2

**Chapter 4-Brothers in Arms: Part 2**

When we last left off…

**E**dward turned around to see another one of the Homunculi; similar to the twin boys they were fighting.

"My name is Rage." The lone one said. "And _we're _going to have a little fun with you."

We? Ed thought. He turned round once again to resume his fight with the three other—

The three others. They were gone.

--End Flashback--

That was the last vivid memory Al could remember. His brother shouting at him, telling him to run. After that, everything was blurry, fuzzy, and hastened.

* * *

Al turned around. He saw the three other Homunculi; they were charging at them. He ducked and rolled just in time to miss their attack. Suddenly, he heard a shout. Naruto. He was hovering feet above the air, like an invisible force was carrying him. From under Naruto, a figure appeared. A fifth Homunculus. No time to react. Piercing shots from behind. Edward slumping to the ground. A giant wall appearing. A burning, claustrophobic sensation. They were being crushed. Shikamaru uses his shadow ability. A brief moment of pain. Falling down hard. Red water all around. Everyone surrounding him.

* * *

Having that weird dream. Waking up at the hospital. That was all he could squeeze out of his memory region. After the last part of the flashback, Al felt like he had died and woke up again some long years afterward.

He looked at his brother, once again remembering the icky dream he just had. He flinched.

"Eew…"

He was about to go back to sleep when Ino and Shikamaru entered the room.

"Oh, hey Ms. Yamanaka! Hello, Mr. Nara!"

"Hey, slow down, Al!" Shikamaru said, chuckling. "No need to be formal, I mean, we're all buddies here, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's right, Al." Ino added with a wink. "Formalities are so hassling. Lets just all relax for once."

"Uh… Okay."

"Good."

"So anyway," Shikamaru said, "How are 'ya? Hope that Homunuculei—thingy didn't hurt you too bad…"

Al looked surprised.

"Wh—What Homunculus?" Al asked. "S—Sorry, I can't seem to remember a thing."

"Well," said Ino, "Since you can't remember, _we'll _tell you what happened."

* * *

As Ino narrated, Alphonse tried to picture the events in his mind.

"So the three others were charging at us, right? And then, they started attacking. One of the two boys used the wind to shoot Senbon. We all dodged them, of course."

"Just then," Shikamaru said, "the other guy created a fireball at shot it at Sasuke. But Sasuke used a fireball of his own to counter. The two projectiles exploded and that gave us time to hide from them."

"But the enemies were quicker than we expected; much quicker. They were already around us before we could even get to where we were to go. One of them, the girl, suddenly stepped back into the shadows. Neji tried to search for her with _Byakugan_, but he couldn't find her. All of a sudden, Naruto got lifted up by his collar, and he was being choked."

"The thing carrying Naruto showed itself; it was another one of those Homuncyli-things. She said her name was Presumption or something like that."

"When we realized she was just baiting us, it was too late—again. The shadow Homunculus, Vengeance, I think, crept up behind us and bombarded us with Shuriken. Your brother, Ed, got hit in the back while we were able to dodge them. You kinda did your Alchemy after that and you created a small cannon and told us to put one of our smoke bombs in it. So we did."

"We fired at the Homunculus, and that gave us time to rescue Edward. The Rage person then shot lightning bolts at us, cornering us in one place. What Edward did was to make a really really big concrete wall to protect us. Boy, was that the biggest mistake of the day."

Al looked puzzled once again.

"You see," said Ino, "what we _didn't _know was that Vengeance had a shadow-manipulating ability, much like Shika's. As soon as the wall was made, she went on top of it and said, '_You fools, look what you've done to yourselves. You have brought your own demise!!_' That was really weird."

"Then it hit me." Shikamaru said. "The huge wall cast this even bigger shadow on us, and Vengeance was free to control it. So she did."

"We felt ourselves being crunched up like little balls of paper." Said Ino, flinching.

"Luckily," Shikamaru said, a smirk on his face, "I _too_ have the power to bend and control shadows!! And what a clever and cunning trick I did!!" he added, now grinning ear to ear.

"Well," Ino said, "It wasn't THAT spectacular... He simply held the shadow open enough to let us free. It's kinda like with those 'cars'-as you call them; you leave the door open so someone can get in and out."

"Anyway," she said, "we were able to get out in time, but you were do fatigued that you fell to the ground. We thought everything was okay, but you were bleeding. So, we brought you to a hospital."

"And the Homunculi?" Al asked.

"Well, they disappeared," said Shikamaru, snapping to add emphasis. "Just like that."

"But not before they left this." said a voice from behind them.

They all turned to see Sasuke, holding something in his hand. It looked like a shredded piece of cloth. He showed it to them.

"Is-Is that what I think it is..?"

In Sasuke's hand was a Konoha hitae-ate. And on the seal, there was a horizontal slash.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Hi there! Sorry for the year-long (or is it longer?) delay of my story; so many things have happened that have "hindered" my continuing of this story. But I promise that from now on, I will update at least every week (or every other week.)


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